Allen and Noblett in race for Quorum Court’s District 4 seat
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008
Editor's note: This story is part of a series of stories on contested races The Daily Record will run leading up to the May 20 election.
BENTON COUNTY - The District 4 seat on the Benton County Quorum Court is up for grabs, and two candidates with years of government leadership experience are vying for the seat.
Current District 4 Justice of the Peace Debra Hobbs of Rogers is running unopposed in her bid for the District 96 state representative seat now held by state Rep. Keven Anderson, R-Rogers.
Tom Allen of Rogers and Randall "Randy"Noblett of Cave Springs, both Republicans, seek the JP seat. Tom Allen Allen served half a term on the Quorum Court in 2001 and served two terms on the Rogers City Council.
Allen, who is director of real estate for The Pinnacle Group, said his decision to run came from observing county government officials' concerns with decreasing tax revenues.
Allen is concerned with county officials'desire to construct new buildings for the Juvenile Detention Center, the Benton County Jail and the Road Department, and "it seems to be an awful lot of desire to build new buildings, and I don't know where they will get the money," he said.
Allen said that as a conservative, he is an "advocate for living within your means, whether it's a business or individual or government. "He said land prices are expensive and that any expansion could mean increased costs for the county.
Allen said he can see both issues in the property-rights debate in the county. "It's a concern of a lot of people, but I think both sides are right. I don't believe in big government, but I also don't believe we should be restricting property rights," he said.
Allen said the county must be mindful of areas of unincorporated land that are close to city limits. "That county land is either going to be absorbed by the city or absorbed by the growth," he said. "We must somehow act in the best interest of all the property owners. With that in mind, it doesn't make sense to put an agricultural or some kind of use next to an apartment complex. You'll have situations like that that might occur if you're not careful; we have to regulate the plan to the fullest extent," he said.
However, that plan should not be enforced in such a way that it places a burden on the property owner for minute nuisances, he said. "We don't need another police force out there basically harassing property owners. "But if a nuisance is damaging the environment or is a "true eyesore, … if someone thinks that's overregulating, I don't agree with them," he said. Randy Noblett Noblett wants to bring his experience in planning and city government to the Quorum Court.
He is serving the second year of his first term on the Cave Springs City Council.
Prior to serving on the City Council, he served almost four years on the Cave Springs Planning Commission.
"I've always been involved in my community," he said. From growing up on a small family cattle farm, he's "seen the advantages and disadvantages of rural life," he said.
Noblett, who wants to bring his background in zoning to the Quorum Court, is a supporter of property rights. "I can understand why you have zoning in a city where you've got higher population concentration. Through orderly and organized growth, you can limit the stress on your infrastructure," he said. "Out in a rural area, I don't see much reason for it. Agriculture is part of what makes rural life what it is. You can have cattle on your property, or a business on your property. You don't have that flexibility in town."
If zoning does happen," agricultural zoning needs to be very limited," Noblett said.
As for the county's need for expansion of services, such as the jail, Noblett wants to look at efficiencies - and utilize the greatest value for the dollar. "I think we need to kind of step back and look at each individual case on a one-byone basis," he said. "You've got to look at them and see if the change will benefit the county."
But Noblett does not want to see those changes place a burden on taxpayers. "Right now, taxpayers are paying more for gas than they ever have. We've got a slow economy, and families are having to make budgets with what they've got. The county should do that, first - be within their means. Raising taxes should be the last thing," he said.
Coming Saturday: Tax Collector.
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